Fridge choice - don't know which way to jump

[peterdeg]

Taking delivery of a Bluetongue Trekka next week.
It comes with a huge drawer for holding a fridge and I'm stuck as to what to put on it!

I already have an old 3-way I bought from Repco many years ago but would like to get some freezer space.
So I have two options.
1) Keep the Repco and add something like an Evakool 47L or the Engel 40L Combi (have ruled out the Waeco 65L dual as it's 1mm too tall and I don't like the freezer dimensions)
2) Get rid of the Repco and go with something larger like the Evakool 70L dual

I'll initially be putting in a 120Ah battery with 200W of panel.

I can see advantages in going with the first scenario (redundancy, less power use when set up by running the Repco off gas)
Going with the 70L Evakool would save a couple of hundred dollars - under the magic $1k mark and give a 5 year warranty (3 for the Engel)

I'm tending towards the first. Just wondering if anyone has any pros or cons to either that might make me reach a decision!  (have been changing my mind about 3 times a day for the last week)

[muzza01]

We have a 90 lt evacool that we use all of the time but also have a 45 lt 3way used on gas for long trips of a week or more. The 12v fridges are great for convenience and short or long trips.

[Barrabart]

Mate can't help much more than to say that the Evakool's are good units............

Having two fridges does have it's merits..... pro's being, not having all your eggs in one basket. Cons taking up space with two fridges.

I prefer the simplicity of one reliable efficient fridge running on 12v........... and making do with that.

Good luck with it all!

[BrindiCruiser]

Which part of oz do you live in? 3 way well down my neck of the woods (Canberra area), not so good up north. Have you been happy with it in the past?

[evolution]

For what its worth, I love my techniice fridge. I have the 60L Fridge/freezer.
It was running for nearly 3-4 months straight due to the new house being built and it never missed a beat. Great product at a great price. 

Cheers
Evo

[muzza01]

Which part of oz do you live in? 3 way well down my neck of the woods (Canberra area), not so good up north. Have you been happy with it in the past?

This is very true. I have the 3 way fridge freezer so I can crank up the cold enough for fridge or freezer. Unfortunately the standard 3 way fridge is poo in the warmer climates. They get cool but not cold.

[HEM19X]

Mate, if you have the space, I would go with 2 units, that way you can use one as a freezer OR leave turned off/right up? and use as a pantry for shorter trips.

[MarkVS]

Before you worry about which fridge, I'd suggest you e how many you think you will need. We started out with one (Evakool 60l) which was great for smaller trips. Some freezer and fridge space. But when we started going on longer trips, and more remote, have now moved to 2 units.
So now, If we are going on a short trip, we just take the Evakool.
When we go on longer trips, we use the Evakool as a fridge, and now also have a engel 40l which we use solely as a freezer.

Once you've decided how many and what you will use them for, then look at what you currently have and how it will fit in.

Mark

[BrindiCruiser]

I quite like the idea of a 40l dedicated freezer. You could then use your 3 way as a fridge.

[cardinal28]

"I quite like the idea of a 40l dedicated freezer. You could then use your 3 way as a fridge."

We go the other way. Use the 40l engle as the fridge and the 40l chesscold 3 way as the freezer. They are excellent on gas. Have not had any problems useing it in hot weather.

[cloakle]

we have the 70 litre evakool its a great unit

[peterdeg]

Thanks for all the responses.
I've been changing my mind 2 or 3 times a day for the last week.

Finally went with the Engel.
Once I realised that its capacity plus the capacity of the existing fridge is greater than the dual zone ones, it made things simpler.
Redundancy plus power savings won't hurt either.